Give and take

Use “give and take” when there are competing priorities that must be considered in a decision.

This is often used when two people are seeking a compromise. Imagine you and your spouse are deciding where to go on vacation. One of you likes a relaxing beach vacation, while the other likes to explore a big city. Your decision-making process might involve some give-and-take.

You might agree to go to a beach this summer and a city this winter. Or you might decide to go to a city by a beach, so you each have something to do. “Give and take” refers to each side giving a little benefit to the other side, but also receiving some benefit, too.

You can also use this when making decisions that involve multiple priorities. Setting a family budget involves give and take. There are kids’ priorities and parents’ priorities. There’s spending now and saving for the future. There’s spending on essentials versus spending on luxuries. When you set a family budget, there is some give and take, where you adjust multiple priorities to settle on a final budget.

In this lesson, we talked about how making a car involves some give and take. The multiple priorities might include safety features, performance, interiors, design, soundproofing, electronics, and more. All of them must be addressed, but some will be a higher priority than others. The process of deciding where to spend the budget to develop a new car is a process of give and take, where each priority is adjusted until a compromise is found.